October 13, 2013 10:50pm EDTOctober 13, 2013 8:03pm EDTTom Brady doesn't panic or flinch. Of course not. He's a Super Bowl-winning quarterback with an elite pedigree. And when the Patriots need him most, he shows why he's one of the game's all-time best.

Before his New England Patriots won Sunday afternoon’s thriller, 30-27 over the New Orleans Saints, the last time Tom Brady outdueled Drew Brees was when Michigan beat Purdue in 1999. That was also months before Brady became the Patriots' sixth-round steal in the 2000 NFL Draft.

At the time almost 14 years ago, Brady shared with Sporting News how much he enjoyed boxing, and how little he liked losing. With his team on the ropes, the grizzled prizefighter showed up again with a familiar technical knockout. The Saints, who fell to 5-1, were just the latest to learn that when he’s down, he always gets the long count.

The Saints’ defense, with Rob Ryan, had Brady on the canvas on two late fourth-quarter possessions, and for the second consecutive week, it looked like another frustrating one-possession loss without him contributing a single touchdown pass. The dubious two-game streak would have come on the heels of going 52 games with at least one.

But instead, Brady’s game-winning, 17-yard strike to rookie Kenbrell Thompkins with just five seconds left prompted Ryan to make his you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me face. It’s the reaction that we’re used to Brady getting from most defensive coaches, most often from Rob’s brother Rex.

For the most part, the Saints had the perfect game plan to beat Brady in his backyard. Ryan’s aggressive 3-4 blitz scheme got good pressure (including five sacks) in his face and contained the Patriots injury-depleted receiving game. With Brees and a balanced offense, the Saints also threw plenty of punches in a physical, run-oriented game.

For those who expected Brady and Brees to go at it like Peyton Manning and Tony Romo did last week with pretty, big pass plays, the Patriots wouldn’t have won that way. They just can’t, with receivers such as Aaron Dobson, Michael Hoomanawanui and the inconsistent Thompkins leading the stat sheet.

Instead, Brady kept counterpunching often with handoffs to power back Stevan Ridley, who along with New England’s run blockers gave him his most impressive rushing support of the season. What makes Brady such a legend is his ability to be just as comfortable in a fistfight as he is in a shootout.

What he did with fewer than 80 seconds left against New Orleans will just add to that reputation. As it’s critical with any quarterback, there were no signs that Brady was shaken by either the four-and-out or interception-and-done drives that preceded his true last gasp. His physical skills have always been trumped by his mental toughness in such situations.

As much as the first 59 minutes matched the offensive struggle tied to the rest of the season, his last five completed passes were classic Brady: cool, quick strikes exploiting every defensive lapse, all the way through the single sideline coverage on Thompkins.

The bottom line is, the Patriots have the same 5-1 record as the Saints and the Seahawks, and only the 6-0 Chiefs and Broncos have better marks in the AFC. As usual, they have early control of the East, two games up on the Dolphins. Brady still has the only important number to him in his favor: Wins.

Once, twice, three times a Brady potential game-winning drive, the Saints just gave his old right hook too many chances.